Hermione's Twin Sister

Hogwarts morning

By the time the first class came around almost everyone knew about Harry and Ron's adventure with the flying car and the crash into the whomping willow. "Detention. On your first day?" Neville asks Harry when he sees him.

"That must be some kind of record." Seamus said.

"I should think you'd count yourself lucky that's all you got." Hermione told them.

"I should think you'd mind your own business." Ron told her.

"If you want, an accident could happen to Ron in the next 24 hours. Not enough to damage him, just scare." Harriet offered quietly, Hermione shook her head no.

Hermione and Ron glared at each other until the professor spoke. "Welcome to Greenhouse third and Second Years. Today, we will be re-potting Mandrakes. Now, who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake? Yes, Ms. Granger" professor sprout said, with Hermione raising her hand real fast.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been transfigured to their original state. It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it." Hermione answered her.

"Excellent. Ten points to
Gryffindor. As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet. However, they will knock you out for several hours.
That is why I have provided each of you with a pair of earmuffs.
If you would then..." she explained while passing out earmuffs.

Ron frowns. He's gotten a bright pink fluffy pair. When the class is ready, Professor Sprout leads them to the garden area. She grasps one of the tufty plants before her... and pulls. Harry gasps. Instead of roots, a small, muddy, extremely ugly baby pops out of the earth, leaves growing right out of its head. Neville's eyes roll back and he faints. Professor Sprout plunges the bawling creature back into a pot, removes her earmuffs, and the others follow suit. Everyone but Neville, who lies stretched on the ground. "Hmm. It seems Mr. Longbottom has neglected his earmuffs."

"No, ma'am. He just fainted." Seamus told her.

"Very well. We'll just leave him then. Come now, 4 to a tray, plenty of pots to go around." Professor sprout said and the class continued.

It was now lunch time, Hermione was reading one of Gilderoy
Lockhart's books and Ron was trying to fix his broken wand, that didn't work out too well. "Say it. I'm doomed." Ron told Harry.

"On the bright side, if you mess up a spell you can blame it on the wand and your parents will probably buy you your own wand, instead of you using the hand-me-down. Which will work better for you because the wand will be 100% loyal to you." Harriet replied trying to make him feel better, it might have worked too, but, Harry replied with "you're doomed." Just then a flash of light blinded Harry.

"Hiya, Harry. I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor too." Said a small boy who stood behind the camera that blinded Harry.

"Hello, Colin. Nice to meet-" Harry began nicely, but Colin cut him off.

"They're for my dad -- the pictures. He's a milkman, you know, a Muggle, like all our family's been until me. No one knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till we got my letter from Hogwarts. Everyone just thought I was mental." Colin told them smiling.

"Imagine that." Ron replied, causing Harriet to kick him under the table.

"Shut up!" She hissed under her breath.

"Say, Harry. Do you think your friend could take a photo of me and you standing together? Ya know, to prove I've met you?" Colin asked, Ron looked like he was about to commit murder but luckily the owl mail came just then. One of the owls face plants into Ron's soup.

"Bloody birds a menace." Ron said recognising the bird, Errol then he saw what the bird held... A howler, "oh, no."

"Heads up, everyone. Weasley's gotten himself a howler." Seamus announced.

"Go on, Ron. I ignored one from my gran once... And it was horrible." Neville told him, a look of fear crossing his face.

Ron's face goes pale as he opens it with shaking hands, his mother is a scary woman. Her voice boomed throughout the great hall. "RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME! *softening suddenly* Oh, and Ginny dear. Congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud." Ginny, sitting a bit apart from the others, looks up shyly, then returns to the small black book she's scribbling in. Ron watches the envelope rip itself to pieces, then endures howls of laughter from the other House tables. Colin Creevey snaps a few photos. Harry looks sympathetically at Ron and Harriet just laughs.

"Look at it this way... How much worse can things get?" Harry asked Ron.

"There is a saying, "once you hit rock bottom the only place left to go is up."... But of course there is another saying, "Crawl under a rock and die" just remember, it can always get worse."

"..." Ron didn't say anything. He just stared at her, like she was crazy.

"... That wasn't very motivational, Harriet. Quite the opposite actually." Harry slowly explained

"You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. Not my fault I'm a pessimist, shoulda thought 'bout that before we became friends." Harriet told him

"I don't remember agreeing to be your friend. You're just Hermione's tagalong." Ron muttered, Harriet heard him.

Harriet bit her lip and was quiet for a moment. "I think I'm finished with lunch." She advertised, pushing her plate away and getting up.

"Harriet, you've barely eaten." Harry looked at her plate, she only ate some fruit. "Come on, Ron didn't mean anything by it. You're our friend. Please, eat with us?"

"I said I was finished and I am. Plus Ron, although rudely stated, is right. The only reason you talk to me is because of Hermione, it was my mistake to think anything else." Harriet left the table and went into the library.